Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection, Keith Scott came under fire last evening for his inability to answer several questions posed by members of the Opposition regarding a $24M allocation for an “Umbrella body,”- the Guyana National Cooperative Union Limited (GNCUL).
Scott, who holds responsibility for labour, was asked to justify the allocation made to the Co-op as well as to give the criteria that were used to facilitate such an allocation, particularly since no previous allocations were made in the 2015 or 2016 National Budget.
In his response, the Junior Minister described the GNCUL as an “umbrella body that more or less ensures the cooperative movement is fully utilized,” before noting that the allocated funds would be used to “resuscitate” the body.
However, when asked by PPP/C MP Gillian Burton-Persaud for a list of credit unions that fall under the purview of the GNCUL, Scott said the body caters to credit unions from each of the 10 Administrative Regions.
Unsatisfied with the lack of information from the Govern-ment Member of Parliament (MP), several other Opposition MPs pressed the issue until Scott made a request to have such information laid over at a later time.
Scott was also asked to provide answers regarding the principals of the credit unions, the type of representation to the Ministry for funding and what reasons were given to warrant the proposal of a $24M allocation.
However, much to the dissatisfaction of the Opposition, Scott was unable to provide any information specific to the questions asked, instead, he requested the opportunity to lay over the information at a later date.
He however did say that the building that hosts the office of the GNUCL is located in Waterloo Street, between Middle and Quamina streets.
Meanwhile, Burton-Persaud proceeded to question the Minister on whether or not the allocations would not have been of greater benefit to the Guyana Trade Unions Congress (GTUC), and the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG), both of whom would have been allocated a meagre $500,000.
Scott in his response, cited the “virtual impotence” of the two bodies, something he said members of the Opposition should be well aware of.
However, the questions did not end there as Opposition Chief Whip Gail Teixeira sought clarity from the Minister on whether or not the GNUC was compliant with both the Anti-Money Laundering laws and the Co-operative Society Laws, to which Scott responded in the affirmative.
